1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an apparatus for generating power. More particularly, the present invention pertains to an apparatus for generating power by transferring potential energy into rotational kinetic energy. Even more particularly, the present invention pertains to an apparatus for generating power by using the weight of a heavy liquid flowing slowly from an elevated storage tank to rotate a wheel, which in turn, provides rotational kinetic energy used to generate electricity.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of water mills to generate rotational mechanical energy dates back to the ancient Romans and Greeks. For centuries thereafter, water mills were used to power various manufacturing processing applications, such as for flour, lumber, paper, cotton, textiles, and so forth. Traditional water mills have become obsolete for functional purposes in most places today. However, the basic physics concepts behind water mills are still used to generate electricity in modern hydropower plants.
There have been recent attempts to improve upon the water mill as a means for generating electricity. For instance, DE 19613599 to Fukai et al. discloses a device having an upper tank, a lower tank, a Pelton wheel, and a pump for pumping water from the lower tank to the upper tank. As water flows out the bottom of the upper tank it drives the Pelton wheel, which in turn, produces rotational kinetic energy used to generate electricity through appropriate means, such as a generator. The water then falls into the lower tank and is pumped back to the upper tank. A portion of the electricity generated by the Pelton wheel is diverted to help power the pump.
A similar device is disclosed in WO 2004/077662 to Tiltay. Tiltay discloses a device having an upper storage tank, a lower storage tank, a turbine which is driven by liquid flowing out the bottom of the upper storage tank, and a vaned wheel which is also driven by the liquid flowing out of the upper tank. Both the turbine and the vaned wheel are configured to produce electricity which can be used to help power a pump for pumping the liquid back from the lower tank to the upper tank.
Typical devices like those disclosed by Fukai et al. and Tiltay use liquids which are relatively thin and have the viscosity of water. It is believed that the liquids used with Fukai et al. and Tiltay are aqueous solutions—if not even just water. These devices rely upon the fast flow of the liquid to generate high rotational speeds and momentum in the wheel assembly. However, it is believed that these devices have shortcomings, at least in part, because they are not efficient enough at transferring the potential energy in the liquid into rotational kinetic energy.
The present invention, as detailed hereinbelow, seeks to resolve these issues by providing an apparatus for generating power by using the weight of the heavy liquid flowing slowly from an elevated storage tank to rotate a wheel, which in turn, provides rotational kinetic energy which can be used to generate electricity. The heavy oil-based liquid provides different characteristics which are believed to have advantageous characteristics over the prior art.